DeLand, animal shelter reach compromise over animal seizure

Monday

Nov 19, 2012 at 8:17 PM

Three hours of courtroom testimony Monday in a dispute over 135 cats and dogs city officials seized from a downtown pet shelter came to an end animal rescue officials said was ultimately to the benefit of the animals.

MARK I. JOHNSONSTAFF WRITER

DELAND — Three hours of courtroom testimony Monday in a dispute over 135 cats and dogs city officials seized from a downtown pet shelter came to an end animal rescue officials said was ultimately to the benefit of the animals. In a courtroom overflowing with witnesses and supporters on both sides of the issue, City Attorney Darren Elkind and officials from Animal Rescue Konsortium Inc., went behind closed doors and came out with an agreement to leave things as they are. The animals were removed from the facility at 441 S. Woodland Blvd. on Nov. 8 after police served a search warrant based on complaints that cited neglect and/or mistreatment of the animals. Allowing the animals to remain under the city's supervision at various shelters until they can be adopted was the centerpiece of an agreement that allows ARK to continue its animal rescue mission while both sides work together to address the issues that prompted Monday afternoon's hearing before County Judge Shirley Green. "Our whole program is about getting the animals adopted," said ARK president Maggi Hall after the ruling was announced. "Logistically it would not have worked to take the animals back." And with the city picking up the bill to keep the cats and dogs in "no kill" shelters until they can go to good homes, Hall said she was "very happy" with the agreement. That's even though ARK did not get a chance to present its side of the case, which included a 3-inch thick stack of veterinary reports showing the creatures were being well cared for, Hall said. The reports were just part of the evidence ARK attorney Tanner Andrews hauled into court in a little red wagon and was prepared to present on behalf of his client. "I had a wagon full of evidence," he quipped to a bystander as he left the courtroom. In his opening statement, Elkind described the rescue center as "not a no kill shelter -- it is a slow kill shelter," adding no one questioned ARK's "good intentions." "But we all know what road was paved with good intentions," he said. He presented evidence including three veterinarians and videos showing unsanitary and overcrowded conditions that city officials found at the Woodland Boulevard shelter. During his opening statement, Andrews acknowledged the evidence would show the center was overcrowded, but said the animals were taken care of until the police swept in. He claimed when the city raided the place, officials did not allow ARK volunteers to care for the animals. That is what led to the unsanitary and poor conditions illustrated in the videos. "You are going to see a standard of care that went from acceptable to crazy that started at 8:30 a.m. the day of the raid," Andrews said. The city said the conditions found at ARK did not meet the community's standards of care. This was illustrated by the numerous cats with upper respiratory infections, the vets said. There also was testimony of maggots found in water dishes, eight overflowing litter pans for 27 cats in one upstairs rooms and other problems such as no food or water readily evident. If things were so bad, Andrews asked, why did a DeLand animal control officer leave a dog at the facility less than 48 hours before the search warrant was served? The Nov. 8 search warrant was prompted by a series of complaints going back to July, records show. Hall was terse in her description of the complaints. "They were a load of bull crap," she said. Neither Deputy Police Chief Randal Henderson nor Elkind were immediately available to comment on the agreement or whether the city planned to pursue criminal charges officials had said depended on the outcome of Monday's hearing.